Educational Outreach

Dennis Stroughmatt will be instructing students about cultural values and issues of the French population in America with an emphasis on the territory of “old upper” Louisiana including present day Illinois, Missouri and Indiana. He will teach students some basic Creole French language, show the usefulness of knowing another language, and explain the opportunities afforded to someone with bilingual skills.

Students will be offered the chance to see and hear traditional French Creole music performed as well as allow them to explore their interests in music by offering them the opportunity to play some traditional instruments including La Bastringue (aka the triangle) and spoons.

Students will be taught about the mostly forgotten geography and history of the French Creole corridor. The timeline will follow the arrival of the French explorers, the miners, the Jesuits, and will include a discussion of the French Creole influence on the voyage of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery.

One Educational School Concert and Two Outreach Workshops are Scheduled.

Award willing American recording artist, classical guitarist and songwriter Andy Hackbarth holds a Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and has studied at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Music School.

Andy’s outreach programs will inspire and educate students using the elements of songs and songwriting to explore multiple subject areas, including language arts, math, science and music. He will be discussing certain “real world” applications of these subjects using the example of various career options in the music industry. His programs will challenge students creatively and intellectually while emphasizing the importance of education, life balance, and staying drug-free.

Through their educational outreach programs, Willson & McKee have reached an average of up to 15,000 kids per year! For over 20 years Willson & McKee have ben bringing curriculum based Celtic music, culture, dance and storytelling to kids of all ages. Students are introduced to the Celtic Harp, Bagpipes, Bouzouki, Bodhran, and Accordion. Their outreach programs include information about Celtic music, the history of the traditional instruments, and traditional Celtic dancing.

Pavlo will be performing a very informative and interactive Saturday concert for the disadvantaged youth and seniors in our community. He will teach the audience about the instruments being played by the band – Guitar, Percussion, Bouzouki & Bass, he will talk about the life of a touring artists, the writing of music, the music business, music for recreation and career, and the importance of music and the arts in schools.

Pavlo is scheduled to perform an educational Saturday Concert for disadvantaged and underserved students, young adults, and the elderly in the Ronan and Polson area.

The East-West International Project’s outreach programs will be interactive lecture/demonstrations that introduces students to different styles of music by playing cosmopolitan music from Russia and Argentina, American jazz, and combinations of these. We teach students some basics about music history, the influence of different cultures, and different composers. We describe our instruments, and since they are unusual, we compare them to instruments, which are familiar from other musical contexts. We share our experiences studying and performing overseas. We have different tools of engagement for various age groups. For example, with kindergartners we use a “magic chair” with little rewards for answering questions, and middle/high school students participate in some basic music-making by dancing and clapping.

One Educational School Concert and Two Outreach Workshops are Scheduled.

The outreach will consist of playing for the students and discussing the different types of Cuban and African music that we integrate, as well as showing the styling of the different instruments and the way that they are used in the different genres.

One Educational School Concert and Two Outreach Workshops are Scheduled.

Carli & Julie Kennedy of Twin Kennedy have over ten years of experience as music educators teaching workshops, master classes, and private lessons in guitar, violin, piano, voice and songwriting. They are both graduates from the University of Victoria’s Bachelor of Music performance program. Canadian Country Music Award Nominees, these identical twins have been playing on stage together since they were five years old. They bring their experience as both mainstream country artists and classically trained musicians to their school outreach programs.

Students can expect a fun and upbeat learning environment. Carli and Julie are known for their positive and encouraging teaching style, with past students receiving gold and silver medals from the Royal Conservatory of Music as well as entrance to prestigious music schools including Berklee College of Music.

The Kennedys’ performances are family-friendly, including a variety of music from country and jazz to classically-inspired fiddle/guitar instrumentals! In Polson, Montana, Twin Kennedy will be visiting three classrooms and meeting with the students to share their experience and stories as professional touring musicians. During their visit, they will also perform songs for the students and answer any questions the students have about their music careers.

The Everything Fitz outreach activity will provide a high-energy music and dance program while engaging students in an interactive learning experience. Members of the Fitzgerald family (Everything Fitz) will perform traditional Canadian Fiddle music and Ottawa-Valley step-dancing. Members of the group will explain the cultural heritage of these traditional art forms and demonstrate how the music and dance have evolved over time.

An essential part of the Everything Fitz educational outreach program is music appreciation. The Fitzgerald family believes the live music experience is a two-way street: the performers respond to the students in the audience and the students respond through the interactions and reactions to the musical experience. This outreach performance is an aural, visual and kinesthetic experience. Watching the complex, coordinated movements of the different musicians and dancers heightens the emotional response to the music and adds to the enjoyment of it. Everything Fitz believes attending live concerts is an important part of experiencing music, and therefore, an important part of developing music appreciation, educationally and emotionally.

The student outreach program with Thomas Pandolfi, Pianist will be directed to students in grades 6-8. Pandolfi believes at this age students need to be “impressed.” He will select a composer such as Franz Liszt, who was a “rock star” in his day and talk about his highly dramatic personal life, showing students how his music reflects some of that drama, but also how it contributed to musical history. At this age students are becoming much more socially aware and want to hear about the details of artists’ lives that are socially interesting and “cool.”

He will also demonstrate how some of the “acrobatics” at the piano keyboard can hold the attention of an audience. He will perform some unusual repertoires for one hand alone that is made to sound like two hands, and he’ll demonstrate an energetic crossover style, explaining how the technique not only intrigues audiences but also relates to music history.

The outreach program offered by the trio of “Too Marvelous For Words” will be a workshop designed especially for high school student musicians. It will examine the universal appeal of the Nat King Cole Trio (NKCT) and how it revolutionized Jazz. In a presentation focused on the musical mechanics of what makes the NKCT one of the most globally loved ensembles in American music, “Too Marvelous For Words” will examine the arrangements, song selection, harmonies, dynamics, and roles of the instruments and voices that make up the trio. Singers, horn players, and rhythm section players alike will learn the importance of thinking and playing like an arranger. By examining how the NCKT successfully applied a variety of textures and a range of dynamics through its ensemble work, students will gain insight into how to apply these concepts to any style of music in which they are interested.